Jim Murray

Morris County Freeholder James Murray remains undecided on running for Governor.

MOUNTAIN LAKES – He appeared at Tony Bucco, Jr.’s pasta dinner at the Zeris Inn last night, and was the first to RSVP Doug Cabana’s campaign, saying he planned to attend the candidate’s Friday night fish fry next week, but Morris County Freeholder Jim Murray hasn’t decided whether he intends to run for governor.

“I’m still mulling it over,” he told PolitickerNJ. “We need to shake things up in Trenton.”

Murray’s out-of-nowhere 2007 dethroning of Freeholder John Inglesino shot the low-key retired municipal engineer into county campaign folklore. 

But to date he remains an organization outsider and his public soul-searching now over whether he will force a long-shot clash with former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie in the Republican primary for governor circulates among Morris County party members as a going topic of bewilderment.

Union County Republicans will hold the state's first convention of the 2009 gubernatorial campaign on Saturday, and former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is the strong favorite to win that vote.   Earlier this month, Christie released a list of 69 endorsements from Union County Republicans, including County Chairman Philip Morin, seventeen of 21 GOP municipal chairs, all eight Republican mayors, and the county's three Republican legislators.

Former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan is doing some campaigning in Union, but is not focused on winning the organization line.  The real race - for whatever it's worth -- might be for third place between Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham) and Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine.   Merkt and Levine live in counties that border Union.

Freeholder Jim Murray

Morris County Freeholder Jim Murray today confirmed to PolitickerNJ.com that he is considering a Republican Primary run for governor.

“We need to shake things up in Trenton and do something to lower taxes,” said the first term freeholder, a 70-year old retired municipal engineer who two years ago unseated John Inglesino, a confidante of Chris Christie, now the GOP’s frontrunner for governor.  

“We need to prioritize the taxpayers. I’m concerned about that,” Murray said. “There are also other things. New Jersey has the highest number of state mandates. There are a lot of environmental regulations. We should look at that. We really need to stimulate the private sector of the economy. I really am considering this.”

Lafayette College Special Collections & College Archives Photo

Robert Meyner was elected Governor in 1953, two years after he lost his State Senate seat to Wayne Dumont.

Of the seven Democrats and Republicans running for Governor, only two have never lost an election: Democrat Jon Corzine won a race for U.S. Senate in 2000 and was elected Governor in 2005; and Republican Brian Levine was elected to the Franklin Township Council in 1997 and 2001, and Mayor in 2003 and 2007.

On the Republican side, Christopher Christie was elected to the Morris County Board of Freeholders in 1994, and lost GOP primaries for State Assembly in 1995 and for Freeholder in 1997.  Steven Lonegan was elected Mayor of Bogota in 1995, 1999 and 2003, but lost races for State Senator (in 1997 to incumbent Byron Baer) Congress (in 1998 to incumbent Steve Rothman), Bergen County Executive (2002 convention) and Governor (2005 primary).  Rick Merkt lost a 1995 primary for State Assembly (he was Christie's running mate) before winning the first of six terms in 1997.  Jim Murray lost a 2006 primary for Morris County Freeholder and then won in 2007.

Corzine's Democratic primary opponent, Carl Bergmanson, was elected three times to the Glen Ridge Council before losing a 1999 bid for Mayor.  He was elected Mayor four years later.

Of New Jersey's ten elected Governors under the current State Constitution, six had lost previous elections: James E. McGreevey ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1997; Christine Todd Whitman lost a 1990 bid for U.S. Senate; Jim Florio lost a race for Congress in 1972, a gubernatorial primary in 1977, and a race for Governor in 1981; Thomas Kean, Sr. lost Republican primaries for Congress (1974) and Governor (1977); Richard Hughes lost a race for Congress in 1938; and Robert Meyner was defeated in a re-election bid for State Senator two years before he was elected Governor in 1953. 

Morris County Freeholder James Murray is thinking about running for Governor.

If 70-year-old Freeholder James Murray enters the race for Governor, it would bring the number of Morris County Republicans to three.  Murray, who raised just $5,000 on his upset primary win over incumbent John Inglesino in 2007, is hardly a first-tier statewide candidate.  But he could siphon off Morris County votes from former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie - as could another Morris candidate, Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham).

Inglesino is part of Christie's political inner circle and has been attending Christie for Governor campaign meetings for more than a year.  He has played a leading role in the reform of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where his law firm (he is former federal Judge and U.S. Attorney Herbert Stern's law partner) had been awarded a lucrative federal monitor job by Christie.